AUTHOR'S NOTES: So I thought a lot of this up at work, and also in some brainstorming sessions with a brony friend of mine. I decided to write a bit of a tragic backstory for Pinkie, and turn it into a journey to reconnect her with her family that we only briefly saw in the show. Also an excuse to write some Pinkie/Dash shipping. Let's see how it goes. One last note: This was conceived with Season 1 in mind, so apologies in advance if Season 2 completely wipes out the canon in the future.

"Dash! You awake? Get out here, girl!"

Two eager pegasi hopped up and down on a cloud, floating directly in front of Rainbow Dash's home. A few moments passed before the head of the rainbow pegasus popped out of one of her windows. She glanced downward at the commotion, spotting Lightning Bolt and Raindrops staring upward at her excitedly. Dash flashed them a look of annoyance. "Can't a girl get a morning routine in?!"

Raindrops laughed incredulously. "Dash, you don't even own a hairbrush."

Dash huffed and tossed her head back. Yeah, they knew her a bit too well. "Doesn't mean I don't have a routine! What are you two doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be working?"

"The sky is great today, so we got the day off for now, just like you!" Lightning Bolt said excitedly.

"Come on, Dash! You want to go do some tricks? It's been ages since we got some practice in," Raindrops added, doing a quick backflip just for kicks.

Dash chuckled and flapped her wings, hovering out of her cloud home and floating herself down to a position in front of the two. "Sorry girls, but Pinkie Pie has the day off, too."

A set of disappointed whines came from the white and gold mares. "I was afraid of that," Raindrops said.

"It's no fun doing tricks without you!" Lightning Bolt noted.

Dash chuckled once more, striking a victory pose in midair. "You know it! You girls can't keep up with me, anyway. Maybe you should go deliver mail with Ditzy instead. That'll be more your speed. Bwahaha!"

With that, Dash laughed and zipped away from the two, the shockwave of her dash disintegrating the cloud the girls were standing on. The two yelped and plummeted briefly, quickly flapping their wings and flying away from Dash's home with annoyed looks.

Rainbow herself flew through the morning air of Ponyville, doing a few spins just for fun, right over the heads of some surprised townsponies. She was happy, after all. She and Pinkie had become a romantic item only a few months before. None of her friends had expected it, and honestly, Dash hadn't either. Everyone was supportive, including Pinkie's adopted family, to Dash's surprise. If only their work schedules didn't get in the way so often. Mutual days off for her and Pinkie were getting few and far between, but now, they had one. Dash wanted to make the best of it. This is gonna be so awesome!

Thoughts of anything and everything she wanted to do today went through her head as Sugarcube Corner came into view. Pinkie certainly had to be awake, but just to make sure, Dash decided to head through the front door and ask nicely. After two quick barrel rolls, Dash landed gracefully on her feet and strolled into the shop, pushing the door open with her snout. A ringing bell alerted the shop owners to her presence. "Oh! Hello, Rainbow Dash," Mrs. Cake said cheerfully.

The pegasus practically skipped up to the front counter. "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Cake! Is Pinkie awake yet?"

Mrs. Cake found herself at a loss for words. Her husband Carrot stepped into view. "Pinkie needs some alone time right now, Dash," he said.

"Alone time? Why? Is she sick?"

Mr. Cake shook his head and briefly considered how to answer. "No. She's just... very upset."

Dash blinked a few times. Did she really just hear that? "Pinkie Pie, upset? Is this some kind of a joke?"

"No, deary. She's not well right now and needs some space," Mrs. Cake stated, ending her momentary silence.

Dash found herself looking at the floor, rubbing her head with a hoof. It didn't sound right at all. She could only remember one time Pinkie had been in a bad mood, but that had been due to a misunderstanding on her birthday. Had something happened overnight? Why was Pinkie upset right in the morning? Why was Pinkie upset at all?! "Why aren't you two talking to her?" Dash finally asked.

"We've tried before. Our words don't help, so we just let her get over it herself. She always does," Mrs. Cake explained.

Dash looked even more shocked. "Are you telling me this happens a lot?!"

Mrs. Cake looked down sadly. Mr. Cake spoke up once more. "Yes, Dash. Every so often. She doesn't tell you girls because she doesn't want you to worry."

The pegasus' shock began to slip into confused anger. "Well now I'm here and now I'm worried! I can't imagine Pinkie just... closed up all day being sad! Why is she even sad?! Pinkie doesn't get sad!"

Mr. Cake recoiled slightly at Dash's outburst. "We... don't really know why for sure. It's too painful for her to share, so we don't press it. We care about her."

Rainbow processed these words carefully, and regained control of her emotions. Pinkie was upset and locked in her room. This was almost scary. Dash received memories of the last time something like this happened; the birthday surprise party. Something was different here, however, and the looks on the Cakes' faces said as much. Dash knew what she needed to do. "Can I talk to her?" she finally asked.

The Cakes looked at each other in slight surprise. They hadn't even considered that. "A-Are you sure, Rainbow?" Mrs. Cake asked, glancing back at the pegasus.

Dash nodded, standing tall and brimming with confidence. Her loyalty toward her closest of friends shone in her eyes. "You make this sound serious. I've... never really been good with mushy stuff. But I love Pinkie, I can't just go and leave her like this. She needs me."

The Cakes looked at each other again, Carrot smiling and nodding to his wife. Cup returned the smile. "Alright, Rainbow. She's all yours," she said.

Rainbow smiled widely. "Thank you... I'll do my best!"

Cup nodded in reply, gesturing toward the stairs with one of her hooves. "Her door should be unlocked. Just be careful. If anypony can snap her out of this, it's you."

Dash nodded, giving one of her trademark salutes before making her way to the stairs and beginning her climb. Halfway up, all her worries she had been withholding came rushing back to her. She stopped and shuddered slightly. Her gaze turned down to the shop owners, who still bore looks of sadness. She then turned her gaze to the top of the stairs and the darkened hallway that waited, a million feelings and thoughts running through her head. This was not how she expected today to go, or what she expected to be doing. That no longer mattered, however. All that mattered was helping the pony she loved. With a sigh, she continued her trek to the upper floors, a cold, heavy knot growing in her stomach the whole way. I'm coming, Pinkie...

Rainbow stood a few feet in front of Pinkie's door, staring. The knot in her stomach was fierce. Could she do this? She had never been the best at comforting her friends during a bad moment. Pinkie could possibly be even harder to crack. Dash shook her head and knocked on it with one hoof. Pull it together, Rainbow. She needs you.

With a deep breath, she stepped closer to the door. Her ears then perked as she heard the noise for the first time, muffled through the closed door. It was crying. A pitiful sobbing in that sweet, high-pitched voice she knew so well. Rainbow's courage faltered once more, her hoof frozen in the air. Fight it, Dash...

Her hoof came down, quietly pushing the handle down and unlatching the door. She slipped her head inside the room, and her eyes came to rest a most pitiful sight. Pinkie's bright colorful room was partially shrouded in darkness, the windows covered by curtains blocking most of the light. The party pony herself sat on her haunches on the edge of her bed, eyes looking down at the floor. Her face was covered by her hanging hair, which was completely straight, just like the last time Dash had seen her in a bad mental state. Her entire coat seemed to be a darker shade of pink as well, just like the last time. Dash quietly slipped the rest of her body into the room and closed the door behind her, her body shuddering now that the earthmare's crying was no longer muffled by the door. She stared at her crying lover for a few moments, a rush of new emotions coursing through her head. Never before had someone so close to her been in such a state. "Pinkie..." Dash finally said, almost too quietly due to her hesitation.

Pinkie gasped in shock. Her head shot up, bright blue eyes staring at Dash with a look of horror. "Dashie! Nonono, Dashie, you can't be here!!"

Dash stared into those scared eyes, gulping once and slowly walking toward the earthmare. "Well, I am here, Pinkie. I'm here to help you."

Pinkie whined loudly and scrambled backward onto her bed, pressing back into her jumble of pillows, as if trying to run from the pegasus. "No, Dashie, no! You can't see me like this, not again..."

Dash stopped walking momentarily and winced. This was worse than she had thought. Pinkie had been angry and upset the previous time Dash had stumbled on her in her odd straight-haired state. This time, it was outright despair. The Cakes had told her Pinkie was sad, but Dash had been not prepared for just how sad. The pegasus refused to take her eyes off the crazed mare, and continued walking forward. "Too late, Pinkie."

The pink mare backed herself against the back of her bed, curling her face away from Dash and wrapping her forelegs around a large pillow. "P-Please... I can deal with it alone! Just go home..."

Rainbow didn't answer. She hopped onto Pinkie's bed instead, watching the miserable pony sob into her pillow. Her own cheeks became wet with tears. Normally, she hated crying. She hated showing weakness. This time, however, she didn't care. She barely even noticed. Slowly she inched closer, her hoof eventually moving to brush against Pinkie's flank. The pink pony twitched hard and shivered, squeezing her pillow tighter. Dash sniffled once, continuing to pet the earthmare's pink pelt reassuringly, or as reassuringly as she could at least, given her inexperience. "Pinkie... L-Look at me," she choked out.

Pinkie shuddered hard again. She fought the urge to look, but Dash kept at it, petting her quietly. After a few moments, Pinkie hesitantly turned her head from her pillow. Their gazes met and locked. Tears dripped freely down Rainbow's cyan cheeks, her rose-colored eyes pooled with a pleading look. For the first time Pinkie had ever seen, Dash looked vulnerable. Vulnerable, sad, and yet... caring. Caring only about her. They stared at each other in near silence, the only noise being the occasional sniffle. At last, Pinkie began to shake, her pillow dropping back to the bed. "Oh Dashie!"

The earthmare leapt at the pegasus, latching her forelegs around her body and sobbing hard into her chest. Dash raised her own hooves up and wrapped them gently around the crying pony, one stroking over her head and down her straightened mane. She said nothing. Nothing needed to be said yet. She didn't know what Pinkie was so upset about just yet, but she knew right then that Pinkie needed someone. Someone to cry on. Her grip around Pinkie tightened, the pegasus continuing to ignore her own tears. Just let it all out, Pinkie. You need this. I can feel it.

It felt like all day before Pinkie was finally calmed down, her tears having run dry. Her sobbing had ceased, replaced instead with soft gasps and sniffles. Dash remained quiet the whole time, her own tears also having ceased, all dried up on her cheeks. She loosened her grip on Pinkie and stared down at her, the first major movement she had done since the embrace started. Pinkie felt it, and finally pulled herself away from the pegasus, looking up and locking gazes again. A soft, loving smile curled over Rainbow's face as she used a hoof to brush Pinkie's mane away from her eyes. "Feeling better now?" she asked softly.

Pinkie attempted a smile, but just couldn't do it. Instead, she nodded slightly. "M-Mostly."

Pinkie clenched her eyes shut, her tears threatening to well up once more. "I'm a terrible pony, Dashie..."

That was certainly not what Dash expected to hear. Well, she hadn't had a clue what she was going to hear, but these particular words caught her off guard nonetheless. "Why in Equestria would you say that?!"

The pink mare's entire body noticeably quivered, her emotions threatening to go out of control again. A soft gasp came out of her as Dash leaned forward, nuzzling her cheek against Pinkie's forehead. Immediately, the mare's quivering stopped. Regaining her composure, she spoke calmly. "I abandoned my family."

Dash blinked a few times and pondered. Pinkie's family? She recalled hearing that story. Pinkie's early years had been spent on a rock farm, of all places. Dash couldn't think of a place that sounded more boring than that. As far as she knew, however, Pinkie had connected with her family when she had gotten her cutie mark. Her first party. "What do you mean, 'you abandoned them'?"

Pinkie slowly rubbed her head against Dash's cheek as her voice continued to sound calm and full of certainty. "I ran away, and never looked back. I abandoned them. My family, Dashie. I'm a terrible pony."

With a blink of her eyelids, two fresh tears slid down Pinkie's cheeks. Dash pulled her head away from Pinkie's as she tried to process this new information. "You never told me that part of your story, Pinkie. What about your first party? You said you all danced together. What the heck happened?"

Pinkie stared into Dash's eyes with a level of sadness the pegasus would have thought impossible to see in the party pony. "Do you really want to know?"

Dash steeled her nerves and nodded. "Please."

~*~*~

The pink filly stared with sad eyes at her surroundings inside the silo. Another late afternoon spent putting her decorations back up with care, including inflating the balloons. Well, most of them. She hadn't gone all the way with the party. Most of the balloons were left uninflated, no treats had been prepared, and she hadn't even turned on the music. She tried to will herself to finish, but there was no point. All of these decorations she had bought with her allowance for her first party, and she couldn't get her family to enjoy them like they did the first time she put them up. It felt like every day that she was out there setting up the party again, and every time she received nothing but anger from her parents. Her work on the rocks was also suffering more and more with each attempt, which only served to make things worse. Why do they hate my parties? The first one was so great...

With a heavy sigh, she leaned her face down to push the box containing the rest of the balloons and decor, intent on putting it away. "Psst, Pinkie," there suddenly came a voice.

Pinkie raised her head and looked toward the door. Her two sisters were peeking inside, worried looks on their faces. For only a brief moment, Pinkie was hopeful. "You came? You came to my party?" she asked.

Pinkie whined and stared at her sisters with almost pleading eyes. "I can't! I got my cutie mark! This is my special talent! Why can't you all just come back to my parties? Our first party was so great!"

Before her sisters could answer, there came the loud voice of their father. "Pinkamena!!"

The two sisters practically squeaked and ran away from the silo's entrance, back toward the house. Pinkie only shuddered, and stayed put. She knew what was coming next, another repeat of the same scenario as every other day they approached her out in the silo. Eventually, the forms of her mother and father appeared at the entrance, both looking plenty angered. "Pinkamena Diane Pie! Are you decorating again?!" her mother asked.

Pinkie recoiled. "M-Mom..."

"There's a lot of rock harvesting that didn't get done, Pinkamena. How many times have we had this talk?!" spoke her father next.

The filly shivered noticeably. Too many times. "D-Dad, I..."

Clyde stomped his hoof loudly, causing Pinkie to squeak and practically leap out of her skin. That was new. "No excuses, young lady. No talking back. What I say goes around here, and I said to stop this party nonsense and keep up with your work!"

Pinkie shivered. Her father was angrier than ever. "But why, Daddy, why?! Can't you see-"

She was cut off by another stomp of the stallion's hoof. "I won't repeat myself again!"

It was too much to bear. This angry conversation had happened too many times. The filly was practically convulsing in front her parents. Her teeth were clenched, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Day after day they had a conversation just like this, and as her parent's anger grew, so did the pink filly's own anger and despair. She had reached her boiling point. A hint of concern began to cross the faces of the two adults at the door. "P-Pinkamena, what are you doing?" Roxy stated with slight worry.

There came a noise not unlike a deflating balloon. Pinkie turned her gaze back up, anger glowing in her eyes as her mane and tail hung limp. "How could you do this to me?!" she yelled, louder than she had ever been in the presence of her parents.

Pinkie ignored the order. "Don't you see my cutie mark?! I found my special talent! The party pony, the pony who spreads happiness! It's not a bunch of ROCKS! I found my true talent and you don't even care?!"

Clyde returned to being stunned at Pinkie's uncharacteristic outburst. Roxy attempted to speak. "N-Now listen here, young lady..."

"What happened? I threw my first party ever, and you and the sisters loved it. We've never done anything like that before. You were happy... WE were happy! It was amazing! Why do you hate it now? Don't you love me anymore?"

Roxy gasped. "P-Pinkie! Don't say such things!"

"I do this all for you, for the sisters! I want us to be a family again!"

"We are a family, Pinkie, always have been! We don't need parties to be a family!" Roxy tried to explain.

Her daughter wouldn't be swayed. "Family?! What kind of family bans talking and laughter and parties and... and FUN! Don't you remember dancing with me, mommy, daddy? I've been doing this almost every day for you, so we can have fun again!"

Clyde snorted in annoyance. "I'm sick of this foolishness!"

Roxy gasped and looked at him. "Clyde, don't say that!"

It may have been the worst thing to say. "I KNEW it! You don't love me anymore!" Pinkie screamed.

Her mother continued her attempts at damage control. "Pinkamena, you're wrong, we-"

Like a bolt of lightning, the filly shot right past her parents, sobbing loudly. "Pinkamena, WAIT!" Clyde yelled after her.

Pinkie ran into her house, passing by her worried sisters at the front door. She ran straight upstairs to her room and buried herself in her own bed. There she cried, and cried. No one came up to the room. Her sisters may have been too afraid to do so. Eventually, she could hear arguing. Her parents argued over what had happened. Pinkie had never acted like that before, and they knew it. Her father couldn't believe he had witnessed such defiance. Her mother thought they had been too hard on her. Pinkie didn't believe a word of that. She forced a pillow over her ears to try and block out the noise. Losing track of time, she remained in a state of distress, lamenting the giant crack in her relationship with her own family, and pondering what she had to do next. She couldn't stay there, not with ponies that hated her and her talents. Making up her mind, Pinkie cried herself to sleep.

She woke up some time later, several hours at least. It was night outside. Candlelight still illuminated her room; her sisters forgot to extinguish it. She raised her head and saw that her sisters were sleeping soundly. That was good... She didn't want to wake them. Fighting back her emotions, Pinkie worked quickly, and quietly. She dug out a somewhat large set of saddlebags her grandmother had left behind for her, where she kept some of her personal belongings, such as her old ice skating shoes and a jar full of what bits she had left. She took the shoes out and packed a sizable blanket instead. She then quietly snuck downstairs, taking the candle lamp with her for more light. She packed away some food from the pantry, as much as she could get into one bag without leaving the pantry cleaned out. As she sorted through the contents of her bag, she found something. One more personal item: A simple bright pink, plastic party horn. She stared at it in silence for a time. It was precious to her, the only one she had managed to find when she had bought her party supplies. Looking at it served to remind her of her fateful first party. Tears began to form in her eyes.

Leaving her saddlebags, she snuck back upstairs, carefully setting the lamp back in its spot on the table near the beds. She took long glances at each of her sisters. They were innocent in all this. She loved them, and she didn't want to leave them, but she had no choice. Her mind was made up. She placed her pink horn on top of her pillow, and adjusted the blanket to make her bed neat. Tears slid down her cheeks as she looked at her sisters one last time in silence, before blowing out the candle in the lamp. I love you both... I'm sorry.

Pinkie went back downstairs, using the moonlight from the windows to guide her in what would otherwise be pitch blackness. She slipped her saddlebags over her back, just managing to handle the weight. As quietly as possible, she left her home through the front door, and walked away. Once she made it a few yards from the door, she began to run. Slowly at first, then ever faster, tears running from her eyes the whole way. She ran as fast she could, eyes forward, and never looked back.

~*~*~

Pinkie's head lay against Rainbow's chest, new tears having managed to manifest in her eyes as she told her story of the day she left her family. Dash was in a minor state of shock. She never would have imagined Pinkie parted with her family in such a way. The two remained in silence for a time, before Pinkie raised her head. "Do you see now, Dashie? I'm a terrible pony."

Dash blinked a few times, snapping out of her stunned state. "It... It sounds like it was horrible there, Pinkie... How are you a terrible pony?"

Pinkie sniffled, reaching up and wiping her face with a hoof. "I abandoned my family, Dash. My sisters didn't deserve to lose their big sister. My parents might have been meanies, but they're my parents. You only have one set of parents, Dashie..."

Dash rubbed her own forehead, trying to think of any way she could salvage this. "It... It just sounds to me like you got out of a bad situation. Now you're in a great one!"

The earthmare looked down at the bedsheets below. "I've thrown so many parties. I have memories of all the best ones. They were great... but I always think about the first one. My first ever party. The first time my family really felt like a family... It was the happiest I'd ever felt in my life. How could I just throw that away, Dashie? I could have tried harder to get them to open their eyes. I could have made us a happy family again. Instead, I ran away. I ran and I never looked back."

Rainbow stared at her in silence. Pinkie had laid her soul bare with calm, precise words, bitter tears dripping to the sheets below in the wake of her tale. She wasn't sobbing this time. Just... crying. The pegasus' mind was tied into ribbons. She had been doing so well in cheering up Pinkie until now. I don't know what to do...

Pinkie sniffled once, breaking the silence and wiping her face again. Her gaze turned back up to Dash, and for just a moment, it looked as if the faintest of smiles crossed her face. "Sorry, Dashie. I know it's a lot to take in. But... I think I needed this. I needed to tell somepony all this. You're a good listener."

She leaned forward and gently rested her face on the pegasus' chest once more. Dash winced. She didn't want to be just a listener. She wanted to snap Pinkie out of this, hopefully for good. She tried to find a parallel, a similarity between Pinkie's situation and her own experiences. She thought back to her time as a filly going through summer camps and eventually flight school. She remembered arguments with her parents, especially the rather heated ones. It was here that Dash had an epiphany. "Pinkie... I know what you need to do."

The pink mare raised her head back up and flashed the pegasus a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

Dash raised Pinkie's forelegs up slightly and firmly pressed their hooves together, looking into the pink mare's eyes. "You need to see them. You need to see your family."

Pinkie gasped, and started to quiver, only softly at first but quickly gaining in intensity. "I... I... N-No! Dashie, I couldn't. I could never go back!"

The pegasus leaned forward, sliding her nose against Pinkie's cheek, causing the earthmare to immediately stop her quivering. "When I was young, I was a bit of a terror sometimes. My parents often couldn't stand it. It got even worse once I was old enough for flight school. We got into a lot of fights. Some were really bad. Sometimes I even told them I hated them. But you know what always happened, Pinkie?"

"W-What happened, Dashie?"

Rainbow pulled her head back and stared into those blue eyes once again. "I went back to them. I told them I was sorry. They told me they were sorry. Even if I said I hated them, I never really meant it. They said things they regretted too, and never meant it. I loved them, and I missed them, and they loved me too. A few little fights could never change that."

Pinkie stared into Dash's eyes, her lower lip quivering. She couldn't speak. A gentle smile curled across Dash's face. "You love them, Pinkie. You love them and you miss them, and you know what I think? I think they love you and miss you too. That's what I think."

A spark of realization seemed to shine in Pinkie's eyes. "They... They miss me..."

Dash saw the spark. She was finally getting somewhere. "Yes, Pinkie. That's what is going to snap you out of this, I know it!"

Pinkie's hooves dropped away from Dash's as her eyes glanced to the side. She almost seemed... embarrassed. "I... I can't say I haven't thought about it. Going back to see them. I was just so afraid of what would happen, like they'd hate me even more for showing my face in front of them again."

For the first time in this entire ordeal, Dash actually chuckled. "Afraid? Pinkie Pie is afraid of something? You're pulling my wing, girl."

Rainbow could actually see the blush of embarrassment appear on Pinkie's face. "H-Hey... I can be afraid of things too... It's a sensitive subject!"

Dash rubbed one hoof under her chin in thought. After a moment, something clicked. An almost devious smile went across her face. "You know, I was taught a song about this once."

Pinkie looked even more confused, staring down an even wider grin on the pegasus' face. "I... guess?"

Dash stood up to all fours, humming a soft tune, her body starting to bob up and down slightly. Suddenly, she leapt off the bed, going toward one of the windows. "When I was a little filly and the sun was going doooown~" she sang, pulling the curtains fully closed for effect.

Pinkie stared for a moment, before gasping. "D-Dashie!"

Rainbow suddenly zipped next to her. "The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me froooown~" she sang, using her hooves to stretch her face into a ridiculous frown.

Pinkie stared at her with an angry look in her eyes, but the look was betrayed by the smile curled across her face. "You're stealing my song!"

The pegasus ignored that exclamation and zipped underneath Pinkie's pile of pillows, shuddering like crazy for effect. "I'd hide under my pillow from what I thought I saw..." Dash suddenly stood up, sending the pillows flying. "But Granny Dash said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all!"

She zipped up in front of Pinkie and went silent, staring into her face with an wide, expecting grin. Pinkie brought her hooves up to her face, stifling a gigglefit. Finally, she played along. "Then what is?!"

Dash suddenly leapt over Pinkie, landing near the end of the bed and striking a regal pose. "She said: Rainbow, you gotta stand up tall, learn to face your fears!" She began to hop up and down in the trademark Pinkie Pie bounce across the bed's edge. "You'll see that they can't hurt you, just laugh to make them disappear: HA! HA! HA-Whoooa!!"

Rainbow failed to notice she had ran out of bed with her final bounce. The pegasus fell straight down to the floor, landing chest first, her legs spread out in four directions. She raised her head up, eyes spinning around briefly in dizziness. Pinkie looked down at the pegasus from her vantage point on the bed, at first with a worried look in her eyes. Then, a wide smile crept across her face. Seconds later, the pink mare flopped back onto the bed, giggling up a storm. "Ehehehehe!! Oh Celestia, you're Rainbow Crash again! Hahahaha!!"

Dash shook off her dizzy spell, ears perking. Pinkie was laughing? She grinned widely. Pinkie is laughing! I did it!

The pegasus hopped back to her feet, climbing on the bed again. There she saw Pinkie on her back, clutching her aching sides while continuing to giggle like crazy. Her mane and tail had returned to the poofy state Dash knew so well, and her entire body seemed to be of a brighter color pink on top of that. Dash had finally snapped her out of her rut. The pegasus briefly joined in with Pinkie's laughter. "So I guess you liked my song, huh?"

Pinkie slowly but surely suppressed her gigglefit, staring at the cyan pony and wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. Dash idly wondered if she was going to answer, when suddenly Pinkie zipped in front of her, yanking the pegasus into deep kiss. Rainbow's cheeks went red as an apple. She was used to this embrace, but wasn't expecting it after all that had happened. After a moment, the pegasus closed her eyes and squeezed her forelegs around the pink pony, returning her kiss with earnest. Pinkie draped her forelegs loosely around Dash's neck, her throat rumbling with soft noises of pleasure. After what felt like minutes, their muzzles separated, noses still pressed together. "Thank you..." Pinkie said softly.

Dash gently stroked one of her hooves through her marefriend's now-perky mane. "I love you, Pinkie. I just want you to be happy."

Dash's face showed its own warm smile, but it soon faded as a thought came to her mind. "But for how long, Pinkie? This is just going to happen to you again, isn't it?"

Pinkie's own smile faded, her head dipping downward, a look of shame showing on her face. "Y-Yes, most likely..."

Dash brought one of her hooves under Pinkie's chin to raise her head back up, meeting gazes once more. "I wasn't kidding before, Pinkie. You need to see them again. You have to show your family that you still love them, and see that they still love you."

Pinkie's eyes drifted away from Rainbow's gaze as she lost herself in her thoughts. Eventually, she nodded. "I know, Dashie. I've known for so long, but I've just been so afraid..."

"Well what about now, Pinkie? You've told somepony your story. You've let it all out. Are you still afraid?"

The pink mare took a deep breath before she answered. "No, Dashie. I... I can do it, but... I can't do it alone."

Her eyes met Dash's gaze again. It was a pleading look, one full of hope. Dash stared into the beautiful blue eyes, her smile returning. "I guess that doesn't leave me much of a choice then, does it?"

Her answer was met with a huge grin and a tight hug from the pink pony. "Yaaay! We're gonna go on an adventure! We've never been on an adventure before with just the two of us, have we? We did go to the Everfree Forest, and also the mountain where you kicked the dragon in the face, but our friends were there for those. Ohmigosh!"

Dash grunted and shoved Pinkie's squeezing forelegs downward to her stomach, to free the constriction on her lungs. She sighed then, listening to Pinkie ramble. She never thought she'd actually be happy to hear the crazed rambling, but after being with a depressed Pinkie all morning, the rambling was like sweet music to her ears. "I'm glad you're excited, Pinkie, but we're not going yet. We should take a few days at least to prepare and let everypony know where we're going."

Pinkie nodded several times. "Okie dokie lokie!"

Dash smiled blissfully. Pinkie was normal again. With another shove, she popped out of the tight hug and fluttered her way to the floor. "Now that that's all settled, I had a lot of things I wanted to do today... You up for some pranks?" she asked, grinning mischievously.

"Hmm... It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Something wrong, honey bun?"

"Rainbow has been up there quite a while, Carrot. Do you think she managed to cheer Pinkie up?"

As if on cue, a streak of rainbow flew down the stairs, the cyan pegasus stopping and fluttering just in front of the door leading out. She had a sack around her neck, filled with unknown contents. "Hey! Sorry about the wait! Everything is cool now!"

The Cakes stared at her in confusion, before gasping as Pinkie came skipping down the stairs, carrying on her back two large saddlebags full of cans of multiple colors of cake frosting. "La la la la la~ Oh hey Mr. and Mrs. Cake! Dashie and I are going out for the day to have fun! See you tonight!"

Dash pulled the shop door open, letting Pinkie bounce her way outside. "Hehehe... This is gonna be so awesome!" she said before zipping out after her.

The Cakes stood there in stunned silence, staring at the door for a few moments, before turning to each other and smiling brightly.

SUMMARY:Pinkie Pie is haunted by feelings of self-hatred, stemming from the day she left her family to be on her own. Never wanting to see her best friend in a crazed state of distress again, Rainbow Dash resolves to reconnect her with her estranged family and bring an end to the personal demons once and for all.

CHAPTER SUMMARY:Dash discovers Pinkie in a terrible state of unrest, and learns more about her friend than she ever knew.

ABOUT:I thought up a lot of ideas revolving around a semi-tragic Pinkie backstory, as well as what her family went on to do in the many years since she's been away from them. So, that's where this story comes in. I added in some PinkieDash shipping for effect as well, although it's not the focal point of the story. They're just such a good pairing! I hope the fanon I create for the family comes across good as well.

This is probably my single favorite DashiePie fanfic along with Light in the Darkness. It just feels...right, you know? Every aspect of it just fits perfectly in the show's context. The only reason it took this long to favorite was because I kept forgetting it was on DeviantArt.